When Richard Bach wrote his 1977 novel “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah,” the former U.S. Air Force pilot and bestselling author of “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” was barnstorming across the American Midwest, offering private plane rides to spectators while pondering his life. In the semi-autobiographical story, Bach meets a mysterious messianic character, and their spiritual conversations form the heart of the book. This quote reassures even the most apprehensive among us that even if our life’s path becomes temporarily unclear, our lives still have purpose. Even if we feel sidelined or like we’re falling behind, as long as we’re still breathing, Bach suggests, the story isn’t over.